Bill Cosby Allegations Surface in Political Attack Ad (Video)

Bill Cosby has found an unlikely new role: As a (probably unwitting and unwilling) participant in a political attack ad.

Cosby, who currently faces sexual assault or rape allegations from dozens of women, pops up in the 30-second spot for Democrat Kevin Steele, who’s running against Republican Bruce Castor for the position of district attorney in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

In the ad, Steele takes Castor — who served as district attorney from January 2000 to January 2008 — to task for not prosecuting Cosby during his tenure in office.

“Bruce Castor, a former DA, refused to prosecute Bill Cosby,” a voiceover in the ad announces. “Castor said, ‘We don’t charge people for making a mistake or doing something foolish.'”

The ad is apparently referencing the case of Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee who claimed that Cosby sexually assaulted her. Constand sued Cosby, settling the suit in 2006.

“Many more victims came forward and Castor admitted he could have used their testimony against Cosby, but Castor didn’t even try,” the voiceover continued, concluding, “Bruce Castor was not looking out for the victims.”

After the ad hit the airwaves, Castor slammed the spot, saying that Steele — currently the first assistant district attorney in the suburban Philadelphia community — would have been responsible for prosecuting Cosby.

“[A]ny additional evidence came to light years after I left the DA’s Office, though Mr. Steele was and is still empowered to arrest and prosecute Cosby,” Castor wrote in a Facebook post. “Why has he not done so, if there is all this new evidence? How was I to look YEARS into the future and divine the uncovering of additional evidence?”

A video of comedian Hannibal BuressHannibal Buress Rips Bill Cosby: ‘You Are a Rapist’ (Video)" href="http://www.thewrap.com/angry-birds-star-hannibal-buress-rips-bill-cosby-you-are-a-rapist-video/" target="_blank">doing a stand-up routine about Cosby's reputation with women goes viral, bringing the accusations back to public attention.

Phylicia Rashad, the actress who played Cosby's wife for eight seasons on "The Cosby Show" defends her former TV husband: "What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated."

After months of defending her friend against his accusers on "The View," co-host Whoopi GoldbergWhoopi Goldberg Flip-Flops on Bill Cosby: ‘All of the Information … Points to Guilt’ (Video)" href="http://www.thewrap.com/whoopi-goldberg-flip-flops-on-bill-cosby-all-of-the-information-points-to-guilt-video/" target="_blank">reverses course, saying, "All of the information that’s out there kind of points to guilt.” Her reversal follows other former Cosby backers like singer Jill Scott.

A week after Cosby filed a countersuit for defamation against seven of his accusers, the comedian sued model Beverly Johnson for defamation. In the complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Cosby’s lawyers accuse Johnson of trying to push herself back into the limelight with a false allegation that he drugged her and attempted to have sex with her.

Getty Images

December 30, 2015

Cosby was arraigned on felony charges of criminal sexual assault stemming from a purported incident more than a decade ago in Pennsylvania involving a former Temple University employee. A previous district attorney declined to charge the star in 2005.

1 of 21

A chronology of the controversies that have tarnished the legacy of one of Hollywood’s most beloved performers